Afghanistan’s B-Girl Manizha Talash, who was participating in the Olympics with Team Refuge, was disqualified from the Paris Games after displaying a political message on her cape.
Talash displayed the message “FREE AFGHAN WOMAN” written on her blue cape during the Olympic breaking, a dancing sport that was making its debut in the Olympics this year.
She lost her battle against the Netherlands’ sensation, India Sardjoe, before being disqualified for breaching rule 50 of the Olympic charter. Sardjoe ended up standing fourth in the competition after losing the bronze medal match to China’s Liu Qingyi. Japan’s A. Yuasa won the gold after defeating Lithuania’s D. Banevič, who scored silver.
According to rule 50, no athlete is allowed to take part in racial, political, and religious demonstrations in Olympic areas. The International Olympic Committee and the relevant National Olympic Committee look into these violations on a case-to-case basis to see if the athlete in question violated the Olympic Charter with their actions.
In this specific case, the breaking dance governing body, the World DanceSport Federation, announced the disqualification of Talash from the mega sporting event. The Federation stated that they had updated the results after Talash’s disqualification, who was found displaying a “political slogan” in the pre-qualifying round of the tournament.
Talash’s message was directed towards the autocratic rule of the Afghan Taliban, who rose to power after the United States withdrawal from the country back in 2021. Since then, the Taliban have introduced chronically backward and misogynistic laws that stop women from playing any sports and bar them from going to schools, parks, and gyms.
These laws have essentially killed women’s sports in the country, and a big majority of female athletes have fled Afghanistan to pursue their careers elsewhere.
Previously, Talash stated that she left Afghanistan not because she was afraid of the Taliban but to fight for the future of women in the country.
Breaking will not be the part of 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and will only be considered for 2032 Brisbane Olympics if it manages to make a good fan following and attract significant amounts of funding.
